


Signals

by woolfverse



Series: Woolfverse [9]
Category: Little Women - Louisa May Alcott, Pirates of the Caribbean
Genre: 1980s, Alternate Universe - Beth Lives, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Christmas Presents, Crossover, Gen, Letters, POV Third Person, Past Tense, Pre-Het
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-21
Updated: 2010-05-21
Packaged: 2017-10-09 16:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/89288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woolfverse/pseuds/woolfverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At Christmas, Beth March is handed a package which was not precisely <i>meant</i> to end up with the Christmas presents, but which will suit well enough anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Signals

"And to Beth, a gift from her captain," Laurie declared, setting the brown paper package in front of her. Its appearance was a far cry from the other gaily wrapped boxes, but its drab look was made up for easily with the presence of her name written out, _Miss Elizabeth March_, in a clear, familiar hand.

"Oh!" cried Demi at the sight of it. His knowledge of his aunt's faraway acquaintance was primarily that Captain Norrington lived far across the sea in England when he was not riding on ships, and he showed less interest in the man himself than in the trappings of his letters and packages. "Can I have the stamps, Aunty Beth?"

"_May_ I," Meg reminded him.

"_May_ I have the stamps?"

"Yes, you may." She glanced at her father, a questioning expression on her face. "When did this--?"

"A few days ago," he answered, with some apology in his voice. "It must have ended up among the pile of Christmas presents by mistake."

The passing out of gifts continued from beneath Amy and Laurie's grand Christmas tree without much further comment. Laurie had set himself in charge of the work, with little Rob doing his best to assist by passing presents to his uncle, who had undertaken his task with all the jolliness of Santa Claus himself. Soon every man, woman, and child in that magnificent room had a stack of presents before them begging to be unwrapped. Little Bess Laurence had to be reminded by her mother that good girls waited their turn and was rewarded for her patience with a brightly coloured picture-book when at last she was allowed to open the second present of the afternoon. (Rob, at two, was the youngest of all those present and tore open a play toolkit with great satisfaction when it was declared he could begin the proceedings.)

It was the elder Elizabeth's turn soon enough, and though she was not so mortified to have all eyes fixed upon her--particularly not when they were of beloved family--she found herself choosing to unwrap a collection of lieder from Fritz rather than beginning with the odd little box from England. She saved that until she was halfway through her collection of Christmas gifts, so as to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to it by either beginning with it or saving it for the end, and told herself it was for James's own, unseen dignity. The life of a naval officer was busy, from what his letters had said, and should he in the haste of his own Christmas preparations have sent something her relatives might somehow find wanting (though she could not imagine that being the case), it should not become the object of amusement over the rest of the day.

When finally she picked up that curious brown package, she was dismayed to see all of the children perk up. Rob and Demi, who had been inspecting a toy train set, were especially interested: Demi, for the fate of his precious stamps, and Rob because Demi seemed so enraptured. Taking a deep breath, she unwrapped the brown paper with nimble fingers, opened the box within, and drew out a series of silky miniature flags, so colourful that her nieces and nephews all drew a bit closer to see.

"What are they, Beth?" asked Meg.

Laurie squinted at them momentarily before snapping his fingers. "Jupiter Ammon! They're signals, like you saw on ships in the old days." John nodded his agreement, and Laurie continued, "Whatever will you do with them, though, Beth?"

"Send signals from my window, I suppose," she said, smiling down at the fabric, which Daisy, Demi, Bess, and Rob were all running their fingers over with great interest.

"The _USS Orchard House_," Professor Bhaer declared, and they laughed. "The captain is kind to send you something that must mean much to him."

"Has he included a note along with?" asked Amy, who had looked puzzled at the gift at first but now quite interested.

James had, one made up of several sheets of notepaper, as was their usual letter length, but Beth read out only the beginning of the letter. "Thank you for the mittens; they are beautifully wrought, and I shall make great use of them." She paused a moment, feeling a little smile bloom on her face of its own accord, born of gladness that he had found her gift so agreeable. "I am afraid you would not consider it kind of me if I made you something in return, as I haven't a tenth of your skill in the matter, so I hope you will find these signal flags amusing. They are reproductions of the sort which were used in the Battle of Trafalgar by Admiral Nelson's ships," and as here, he spoke on about the battle in question for another sentence or two, then moved on to other subjects, she ended her short reading.

"Oh, do go on," Laurie teased, winking at her. "You've plenty left to read of."

Jo took a sofa cushion in hand and swatted her old friend with it. "We don't read your private correspondences aloud, Teddy."

"We could, if you liked, but you would all be bored to tears."

Mr. Laurence cleared his throat, and the attention in the room turned to the elderly gentleman. "Let us leave the young lady alone; she will surely inform us if the rest of the letter bears repeating."

Beth smiled her thanks at him, and said to her brother-in-law, "It is your turn to open a gift, Laurie."

"By Jove, I'd nearly forgotten! Thank you for reminding me, Beth. Now, let's see--the one from Jo, surely," Laurie said, and Captain Norrington's epistle was forgotten. Beth tucked it into her pocket, a treat to look forward to when the day's festivities were through, and joined in with the others as they exclaimed over the purposely garish tie Jo had bought for her Teddy, sitting like a bookmark between the pages of a book he had been longing for.

**Author's Note:**

> A Woolfverse story, albeit from a slightly different part of the Woolfverse than the Temeraire fics. This one is set in Christmas of 1989.


End file.
